Essays On Alcohol And Tobacco Abuse

Essay on Addictions to Smoking and Alcohol

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Addictions to Smoking and Alcohol

A lot of people suffer from the consequences of smoking and drinking alcohol, which often leads to addiction. The word 'addiction' is a very powerful word in this sense, as it means the physical and psychological craving for a substance that develops into a dependency, and continues even though it is causing the addicted person physical, psychological and social harm. The disease of addiction is chronic and progressive; it can lead to extremely dangerous outcomes. This applies to both smoking, and alcohol addiction.

Smoking is not just a bad habit, but also a complex addiction. Experts believe that nicotine exerts its powerful addictive effects by…show more content…

Smoking increases the risk of suffering from heart diseases, stroke, other lung diseases and other respiratory illnesses. The body develops horrific reactions to the daily onslaught of smoking. It damages the blood vessels in the legs and arms for example, which lead to restricted circulation and even amputation of the limbs. Also, a smoker addict will eventually start getting eye irritations (which leads to blindness), foul smelling hair, hair loss and even start developing a loss of smell. All of these reactions are due to the dangerous chemicals cigarettes contain. One example of such a chemical is hydrogen cyanide, which can lead to headaches, nausea, dizziness and vomiting.

Whilst breaking the physical addiction to nicotine is hard, for many smokers breaking the habit - the psychological addiction - is much harder. This is mainly because smoking is likely to have become deeply ingrained over many years, and has therefore become an integral part of many emotional occasions. Sad or unhappy, bored or having to concentrate hard, happy and relaxed with friends - cigarettes are likely to have played a part in almost all of these situations. Some people smoke because of the way cigarettes are advertised, and where they are shown. Another reason why

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Alcohol and Tobacco: A Deadly Duo

Cancer of the upper respiratory and alimentary tracts claimed over 23,000 lives in 1989 and 57,000 additional cases were diagnosed. The majority of individuals who fall prey to this type of cancer are males who abuse both alcohol and tobacco.

The Risk

The fact that the risk of developing cancer of the esophagus, lip, tongue, mouth, pharynx or larynx, increases dramatically in people who are heavy users of alcohol and tobacco is substantiated by 30 years of collective research. Studies demonstrate that the risk to individuals dually addicted far outweighs the risk to individuals who abuse only one substance. This confirmed link between alcohol and tobacco abuse and an increased risk in…show more content…

Another study, which compared male and female alcoholics enrolled in an army drug and alcohol rehabilitation program to non-alcoholic army personnel and their relatives, affirmed the smoking-drinking association. The report found that individuals who were alcoholics smoked an average of 49 cigarettes per day, but that the non-alcoholic subjects smoked only 13 cigarettes per day. In addition, the study established a high correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked and the grams of alcohol consumed by alcoholics, as opposed to a very weak association for the non-alcoholic control group.

In a similar report, 58 percent of the non-drinkers were non-smokers, but the individuals who were alcoholics did not abstain from smoking. The finding that smokers who did not drink smoked significantly less than smokers who did drink was further substantiated in additional studies.

Why Do Many Drinkers Smoke More?

Studies released in the late 1950s, correlating heavy coffee consumption with smoking and drinking, suggested that a strong oral drive caused drinkers to smoke more frequently. However, new evidence suggests that a strong oral drive is not the culprit.

In one study, alcoholics who had successfully stopped drinking demonstrated no appreciable increase in smoking. In fact, some even smoked less with alcohol abstinence. If a strong oral drive was responsible for the